Senior Advisor to the Boss: Billionaire Obsession Dark Romance (Managing the Bosses Series Book 9) (17 page)

“Erica. I want to talk to you.” Mark wondered if she would even acknowledge that she'd heard him, but Erica turned away from the clubs she was packing away and looked at him.

“Yes, Mr. Reid?”

His jaw tightened. He hated it when she called him that. “Will you please just—” Mark cut himself off. Talking to her in anger wasn't going to bring her back. It would just widen the rift between them. “I'm sorry. Let me try that again.”

She was looking at him like he had about two seconds before she lost patience and walked away.

Mark took a deep breath. “I want to talk to you about what happened between us, Erica. Please. Just talk to me. For five minutes. If you really want to walk away then, I won't ever say another word about it.”

“Fine,” she said. Her arms crossed over her chest. “Talk about it, then. Five minutes.”

“I'm sorry,” Mark said. It was easier to say than he'd thought it would be. “I treated you badly toward the end of our relationship. I snapped at you and took you for granted, and I refused to trust you. I shouldn't have done those things. You deserved better.” Her expression softened, just slightly, and Mark took the chance and rushed on. “When I got angry about what I saw as flirting, I didn't take the time to think about why else you might be friendly with someone. You were trying to tell me when you said that it was the same as Christine and me, and I didn't listen.”

“Dale Richardson is an old friend,” Erica said. Her voice was gentler than it had been. “I wasn't flirting with him. Or interested in sleeping with him. I didn't want to be with anyone but you, Mark.”

“And I don't want to be with anyone but you,” Mark said. “I... When we were broken up I tried it with someone else. Tried to have one of the just-fun, no-strings-attached kinds of things I used to have and I just missed you. The whole time. I didn't want her. I wanted it to be you with me. And I want you in my arms. And in my bed. Close to me. I want you back, Erica.”

It was everything that he knew how to say. She was silent, and he watched her as she thought it over, obviously considering his words. His heart beat a little too fast in his chest, nervous anticipation making him almost sick to his stomach.

“You want me back?”

“If you’ll have me back,” Mark confirmed. “I need you. More than anything, Erica. My life isn't right without you. I've tried it, and it doesn't work.”

She dropped her arms to her sides, dropping her guard, and Mark dared to take a step forward. “And what happened before…?” she asked.

“It's not going to happen again. I'm going to trust you to take care of yourself and our relationship. You're a strong, intelligent woman. I believe that you know what you're doing.” Mark smiled at her. “I mean, hell, I'm pretty sure you could kick my ass if we ever got in a fight.”

“Damn right I could,” Erica said, and he saw the corner of her mouth twitch upward like she was trying not to smile. Hope made his heart beat even faster in his chest.

“So what do you say?” he asked. “Or you don't have to say now. If you need time, I'll give it to you.”

“I've missed you, too,” Erica said, and she was walking, but not toward him. She took a few steps and then turned, like she was pacing. “I really have, Mark.” She paused, and then she was taking a step in his direction. Another.

Mark moved to meet her, and then she was wrapped in his arms, feeling so good there. He'd felt so empty without her. “Fuck, I've missed you.”

Her arms wrapped tight around him, holding him in return. “I know,” she said. “I kept thinking about you. All the time.” Her shoulders hitched like she was trying not to cry. “It almost ruined my golf game, you bastard.”

Mark started laughing. He hadn't meant to, but he couldn't stop it. It just bubbled up out of him, the joy at having her back in his arms, and an instant later she was laughing with him. They held each other there, on the driving range, and laughed until their knees were weak. Then she pulled back and smiled at him.

“I guess that was a funnier joke than I thought it was,” she said.

“I don't know about that,” Mark said. “You might have a ways to go before you're performing stand-up comedy with any success.” He paused. “Did I really almost ruin your golf game?”

Erica swatted him in the shoulder with an open palm. “Yes. You did. I couldn't keep my focus on the ball. People kept wondering if I was okay, and I had to tell them that I was just fine because I wasn't going to tell them that my boss broke my heart. That's probably bad for business.”

Mark reached down and brushed a lock of hair back from her face. “I wouldn't care if it was, but I'm kind of glad you didn't tell everyone that. They probably would have come and beat me up for breaking such a beautiful woman's heart.”

Erica leaned up and kissed him before he could say anything else.

Her mouth was familiar against his own, and he felt her lips part, letting him in. He angled the kiss deeper with a hand against her cheek, and explored her mouth like he'd never kissed her before. It had been so long.

“Mark,” she breathed when they pulled back for air. “I forgot that I loved kissing you so much.”

“You forgot?” Mark said, looking down at her. “You forgot that you liked kissing me?”

It was only half a joke.

“I refused to think about it.” Erica pressed in close again and laid her head against his shoulder, his arms wrapped around her back and holding her near. “I didn't want to remember how much I liked kissing you because if I did I would think about why, and if I thought about why I would miss you even more.”

Her hips rolled once against his, and Mark's cock was already starting to respond, wanting her the way that it always did.

“Well, I'll just have to remind you,” he said, and leaned down to kiss her again.

There were better places to make out, like maybe his rooms above the restaurant, but Mark didn't want to move away from her. He didn't want to break the connection between them. He was still almost afraid that some part of it was fragile. That it needed reinforcing. But he did eventually pull back, though his hands didn't leave her hips.

“Should we go inside?”

Erica looked at him, and he remembered the first time that they had kissed, after that night she showed up on the driving range in a trench coat. He hadn't expected anything like it. Even thinking about it was hot enough to make him absolutely sure that they should go inside unless they wanted to see how comfortable it was to have sex on the driving range. He eyed the grass skeptically.

“Yes,” Erica said, maybe picking up on the meaning of the look he was giving the ground under their feet. “I think we should go inside.” She wrapped herself around him again and nipped at the lobe of his ear. “Take me to bed or lose me forever.”

Well she didn't have to push him on that one. Mark scooped her up before she could protest, carrying her princess-style toward the clubhouse. By the time they got there, all the other employees would have gone home and it would be just them.

Inside, Mark refused to let Erica down. He grabbed a bottle of Champagne from the bar as they went past, then carried Erica up the stairs to his own rooms. She made a show of trying to get him to let her down, without any actual interest in being put down if the grip of her arms over his shoulders was enough to give away what she wanted.

He kicked the door to his room open, glad he'd just left it half shut and not locked. That would have been a pain. Erica giggled and he dropped her on the bed.

“How's that?” he asked. “A bed for you.”

“It's perfect,” Erica said, smiling up at him with her hair all in disarray around her. “Just the bed that I was looking for.”

“Good,” Mark said. He lowered himself down over her, feeling the warmth of her body against his own, and kissed her hard. This was what he had really missed. Being so close. So wrapped up in each other. He'd missed her presence at his side and the sound of her voice as she laughed and talked and gasped.

“I'm so glad that you decided to give me another chance,” he murmured against the skin of her neck. “Thank you.”

“One more chance,” Erica said. “So don't blow this one.”

“Not going to happen,” Mark said. And it wasn't. He leaned in for another kiss.

From now on, he was going to make Erica happy. Starting with something they both missed.

***

When he woke up the next morning, Erica was at the stove in one of his button-up shirts that covered nothing below her upper thigh, and cooking eggs. She'd left the shirt unbuttoned, and when she turned to look at him, Mark let his eyes roam thoroughly over her body.

“Morning,” she said, smiling at him. “I see that you finally decided to grace the world with your presence.”

“Good morning,” Mark said. “I think you're the one who prompted that. What with the eggs.”

“They are a nice thing to wake up to,” Erica said, flipping one so that its other side cooked, and sliding another one onto a plate. “And so is breakfast in bed. Which you're lucky you're getting after the way that you've behaved the last few weeks.”

“You're making me breakfast in bed?” Mark asked.

“I am,” Erica answered, turning to smile at him over her shoulder. “I thought that you might appreciate it.”

“I did,” Mark said. “I do. A lot.”

And he did. Almost as much as he appreciated the way that she looked wearing nothing under one of his unbuttoned shirts.

He’d meant to wait.

His plan had been to take her to a nice restaurant. Maybe hire musicians. Pull out all the stops. He still needed to get the ring sized. But lying there in his bed, watching Erica move around the kitchen with the early morning sunlight spilling in on her, he couldn’t stand another minute without knowing. He levered himself up off the mattress and went to the sock drawer, pulling the ring and its little black velvet box out. Unlike Erica, he wouldn’t exactly look good in just an unbuttoned shirt, so he pulled on a pair of jeans instead. It wasn’t a look he wore often, but he knew that he looked pretty good bare-chested, the muscles he’d worked hard for rippling under his skin.

Erica had her back to him, her eyes on the eggs. He let her pull the last one off the stove so that it wouldn’t sit there burning.

“Erica,” he said, before she could pick up the plate.

She turned to look at him, and he dropped to one knee. Her eyes widened as he pulled out the ring box.

“Mark…” She didn’t get all the way through whatever she’d been going to say, her voice trailing off.

“Erica,” Mark said. “I know that we’ve had our differences, and our arguments. But seeing you here, like this, having you so close again, I couldn’t go without asking you. Will you marry me?”

For an instant she just stared at him, and Mark thought that maybe she as going to say no after all. He’d moved too fast. Been too pushy. She–

“Yes!” Erica said suddenly. “Damn it yes, Mark!” She was laughing, and wiping her eyes as he was sliding the ring onto her finger, rising to his feet so that she could fling herself into his arms. Yes. She’d said yes.

Standing there in his tiny kitchen in the early morning sunlight, both of them half-dressed, Mark was sure that he had never ever been happier.

Everything was ready for the twins’ birthday party. The cake Murray had baked was sitting on the dining room table in front of a small pile of gifts. There were snacks set out. Lemonade made. The only things missing were the guests.

“What do you think?” Jamie asked Benton, showing him the cake with its brightly-colored frosting birds. She hadn't known that Murray was so good at cake-decorating, but apparently it was his hidden skill, because it was really beautiful. Benton squealed with delight, reaching out for the cake with both hands, and Jamie pulled him back, laughing. “Not quite yet. You have to wait a little longer.”

Lilli was with her daddy, wrapped in Alex's arms and giggling as he bounced her lightly.

The doorbell rang. Jamie, Benton still on her hip, went to answer it. Her father and Christine were standing on the other side, both of them smiling and bearing gifts.

“Come in,” Jamie said, taking a step back to let them move past her. “Come in. We're all so glad that you could make it.”

Benton clapped his chubby hands together, validating her words, and reached out for his grandpa, who happily traded Jamie for the package he was holding.

Jamie took the present to the dining room table to put it with the ones that she and Alex had already set there. Christine followed silently behind her.

“Can you believe they're already one?”

Christine set her present with the others and shook her head. “Not really,” she said. “It seems like they were just coming home from the hospital yesterday, and now they're practically walking.”

“That's going to be exciting,” Jamie said a little ruefully. She laughed. “I don't know how I'm going to keep up with them when they're actually running places. I'm going to have to put them both on leashes.”

Christine's laugh didn't sound entirely happy, and Jamie turned to look at her. “Are you doing okay?”

“Me?” Christine looked surprised that Jamie had asked. “Yeah. I'm fine.”

“Are you sure?” Jamie wasn't sure that she believed her sister. Now that she looked closer she could see that the smile Christine had been wearing was a little ragged around the edges, like she was just wearing it because she thought she had to. “You know, if something's going on you can talk to me.”

“I know.” The smile became a little more genuine. “But this is a day for the twins, and I don't want to bring anything unhappy to it. I promise I'll talk to you later.”

As long as she kept that promise. Jamie would have said something more, but the doorbell rang again and they both went to see who it was.

Alex had opened the door already when they got there. Mark and Erica were standing behind it. Jamie almost followed Benton's example and clapped her hands. They'd gotten back together. Erica looked happy, too, so obviously Mark had done well.

“Mark,” Jamie said, stepping forward. “And Erica. It's so good to see you again.”

“You, too,” Erica said, smiling hugely.

Jamie, reaching out to take the present that Mark was holding, froze. There was a glitter on Erica's ring finger. A gem catching the light. She was wearing an engagement ring, and suddenly the huge smile made so much sense.

“Mark!” Jamie glared at her brother-in-law. “Why didn't you tell me?”

He opened his mouth to answer, but Jamie was already turning toward Erica.

“Never mind. I'm so glad you said yes, Erica. Can I see the ring?”

Erica held out her hand, revealing the diamond and the sapphires set into the gold band. Jamie felt Christine come up behind her. Alex was clapping his brother on the back, congratulating him in a more manly fashion.

“That’s beautiful,” Christine said softly.

“It’s gorgeous!” Jamie agreed.

“Thank you,” Erica said, beaming.

“Welcome to the family.”

Jamie turned to find her father standing at Christine’s back, Benton still in his arms. It was he who had just spoken.

“I didn’t tell you yet because I honestly just did it,” Mark said. “While she was making breakfast this morning.”

“While she was making breakfast!” Jamie stared at her brother-in-law in horror. “What kind of proposal is that?”

“It was a beautiful proposal,” Erica said. “It really was.”

“See?” Mark demanded.

“Okay,” Alex said. “No fighting over Mark’s proposal methods. Let’s all go sit down, okay?”

They all trooped into the dining room and took seats. Jamie’s father took the head of the table, and Alex and Jamie sat across from Mark and Erica, with Christine next to Jamie on the end.

“I’m so happy for you,” Christine said to Erica. Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“We all are,” Alex said, tickling Lilli to make her giggle. “And glad to have you as part of our family.” He narrowed his eyes at Erica, only half joking as he added, “So long as you treat my brother right, that is. If you don’t, we might have to have words.”

“I promise to treat him right,” Erica said, slipping her hand into Mark’s and leaning close to his side with the bliss of the newly-engaged on her face.

“I think Benton is ready for cake,” her father laughed.

When Jamie turned, her son was leaning out of his grandfather’s arms, reaching for the cake with both hands.

“Okay,” she agreed, laughing, too. “Cake time, little man. Relax. We’ll get you some. You have to blow out the candles first, though.”

Her father handed Benton over, and she and Alex moved to stand in front of the cake with the twins. Jamie felt a little sick to her stomach, but she ignored it. She’d been feeling that way lately. Probably the stress from the hacker issues. Now that they had dealt with it, she would probably start to feel better.

The happy birthday song started, and Jamie held Benton carefully, singing along and smiling at the camera phones pointed in their direction. Alex was singing beside her, keeping Lilli from reaching into the cake.

“Happy Birthday to you!” everyone finished, and Jamie leaned Benton forward.

“Okay,” she said. “Now blow.”

They didn’t understand, of course, and Jamie and Alex did the blowing out of the candle for them while everyone clapped. She felt a little short of breath as she leaned back from the cake.

“Christine?” she said. “Can you take Benton?”

Her sister stepped forward, and Jamie handed over the baby, who was feeling a little heavier than usual. A sudden suspicion struck her as she breathed in deeply. Alex turned to look at her with concern on his face, handing over Lilli to his brother who had stepped forward to take her.

“Jamie?” Alex said.

Jamie opened her mouth to answer him, and then the world went dark.

When she came back to consciousness, Alex had her in his arms, and everyone else was leaning over her. Benton was crying, and Christine was trying to settle him. Jamie sat up, Alex’s arm against her back, and reached out for her son.

“Are you sure you should hold him?” Alex asked her.

“I’m fine,” Jamie said, and Christine settled Benton into her arms. He stopped crying almost instantly, hiccupping a little as the tears ceased.

“What happened?” her father asked.

“I fainted, I think.” Jamie cuddled Benton a little closer, embarrassed by the concern on everyone’s face. “I…”

“You what?” Alex asked.

Everyone was staring at her, and she wasn’t sure that she wanted to share the news she thought she might have in front of all of them. But they were all family. All people who cared about her. Jamie smiled. “I think I might be pregnant.”

She hadn’t realized, in all the excitement over everything else, that she had missed her period, but as she thought about it she realized that she definitely had.

Alex was looking at her, his eyes wide. “Pregnant?” he echoed.

Jamie nodded. She was almost sure. There would have to be a pregnancy test, but the chances were high enough that she wasn’t wondering about the outcome.

“You don’t waste any time, do you?” Christine teased. Once, that would have been cruel, but there was no edge to it anymore, and Jamie laughed.

“It’s his fault.” Jamie pointed at Alex.

“How would you like that?” Alex asked Lilli. “A new little brother or sister for you?”

Lilli just smiled at him, patting his cheek with her hand.

“We should get up,” Jamie said, “and let them have their cake and their presents.” It was still their birthday party, after all.

“You sure you’re okay?” Alex didn’t look convinced.

“I’m fine. I’ll grab some juice and I’ll be fine.” Everything else could wait.

Christine took Benton again, who was calm in her arms now that his mother wasn’t unconscious, and Alex helped Jamie carefully to her feet. She swayed a little, but steadied, and gave him a smile. Her father was already cutting the cake, setting it out on plates, and Jamie sat Benton in his highchair as Mark did the same with Lilli. Then she set a piece of cake out for each of them, laughing as they immediately grabbed fistfuls of it, stuffing it into their mouths and making a mess.

Alex was behind her, his arm wrapped around her waist, his body supporting hers. Her sister was there, eating cake and laughing at the twins, and Mark was sitting across from them with his new fiancée. Her father had finished handing out cake and taken his own seat.

It was a room full of laughter, and love. The exact place she wanted to be after all the stress and pain of the last few weeks. No matter what, she thought, they were a family, and they would see each other through.

“You really think you’re pregnant?” Alex asked against her ear.

Jamie nodded. She really thought so.

Alex was silent for a moment, just holding her.

“Please don’t let it be twins again,” he said finally.

The room erupted into new laughter, and Jamie turned in his embrace and kissed him hard, content with her place in the world and the man in her arms. No matter what else came at them, she had her happily ever after right there in that room.

THE END

THE FINAL CHAPTER OF MANAGING THE BOSSES,

Forever with the Boss

BOOK 10 coming in August!

Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01I2D6LK4